Hobby horses



Feb. 19, 1957 R. B. PLYMPTON HOBBY HORSES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed' May 24, 1954 Feb. 19, 1957 R. B. PLYMPTON HOBBY HORSES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 24, 1954 1NvENToR Raz/[b prm/b/n United States Patent O zjsznsz nouer iron'sns Ralph Bcllympton; West Lanham Hills, Md. Appiieaiionitiy itt,- i'9"54, Seiii N6. 431,665 1f craint: (ciauz-253:1)

"lfhisinventionrelates Ato neu/ and; useful improvements aiigljstriicttiral refinements inhobby horses, particularly hsbbyf' hQr-Sr' 0f. the power drivenv type, and the principal ofl the vinvention is to provide a device of this nature which is very simple in construction but nevertheless capable of aifording a rider thereof a realistic and highly entertaining riding movement.

Although various hobby horses have been made in the past, the power driven varieties of such devices were usually very complex in construction and, of course, eX- pensive to manufacture, with the result that the ownership and use thereof could not be enjoyed by average individuals. As already implied, this invention avoids such a dificulty by providing a structural arrangement which may be easily and economically assembled from a comparatively small number of components.

An important feature of the invention resides in the provision of novel hinge means for connecting the body of the horse to its support member, whereby the body is permitted to move about two spaced axes to result in a combined upward and downward as well as an apparent forward and backward motion.

With the above more important objects and features in View, and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specication proceeds, the invention resides in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts and wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View thereof on an enlarged scale;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the invention;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective detail illustrating the arrangement of the switch;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the hinge used in the invention;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary Vertical sectional view, similar to that shown in Figure 2 but illustrating a modified form of the invention; and

Figure 7 is a sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 7--7 in Figure 6.

With reference now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the hobby horse constructed in accordance with the invention is designated generally by the numeral 10 and embodies in its construction a horizontally elongated base 12 which is adapted to rest on the floor, or the like, and is provided at the rear end thereof with an upstanding support member 14. A diagonal brace 16 reinforces the member 14 to the base.

A suitable horse body 18, spaced substantially upwardly from the base 12, is movably connected to the upper end of the support member 14 by a double acting hinge assembly 20. The latter consists of a lower leaf 22, an intermediate leaf 24, an upper leaf 26 and a pair of hinge pins 28, 30, which connect the respective lower and upper leaves to the relatively opposite side edges of the intermediate leaf, as is best shown in Figure 5. The

y .2,782,032v 'tartanisaV Fa. 19', iss? lower leaf 22 is secured to the upper end of the vsupp'rt memberl 14; while" the upper leaf 26 is secured to.; the rear and portion' or the nurse' body' 18'. .Al tension sprig s2, disposi-gi rearwardly or the' support member 14'; ,its anchored stirs upper ena to an eye s4 ,secued Jiofhf body 1s',.whi1e` the lower end er thei spring is' achiefd to an eye 36 s'ecu' the infnbenm. be apparent, the spring" 3'2 cou'nte'ractsthelweight ofthe body 18 forwardly of thelpliiig"i smbly 20 by urging rhewbody` upwardly about the h e. y, .Y v,

An lectric motor 381i's ounted'on the front p' t'ion of the base 12 is preferably provided witlia built-ifi rsaaiion drive miitxioliia 6g' a dritt-iii= siiff 42 l viddwi'th c'r'a'nk'd 'llle'lateris'connec e toapitman aan as which, is fura infranti-:d byg iii'gs 4s tothe front end portion of the;H lirfsfbody 18. n

rr will te apparentes" tir foregoing that, wired the in'' 01:.38 iis" elitergilzetl',A rotation of the crank ll-,inpart 'i iipiva'rd' aiddwivtfardrrviieiif to the bodyJ 181 Moreover, it is to be noted that the length of the pitman arm 46 is such that the crank 44 is in a position intermediate the ends of its stroke or throw when the leaves 22, 24, 26 of the hinge 20 are substantially parallel and in abutment, as shown in Figure 2. Thus, when the crank 44 moves upwardly as shown at 50, the horse body 1S will pivot about the hinge pin 30. However, when the crank moves downwardly from a position spaced from that shown in Figure 2, the horse body will pivot about the hinge pin 28. ln this manner the fulcrum of the body 13 will be alternately shifted from one hinge pin to the other, thus producing an apparent forward and backward movement in conjunction with the upward and downward movement to which the body is subjected.

ln other words, when the crank 44 moves from the position shown in Figure 2 to the top dead center posit tion, the horse body will be moved upwardly and rearwardly in an arc about the hinge pin 30 and as the crank continues in its movement from the top dead center position to an intermediate position spaced 180 from that shown in Figure 2, the horse body will move downwardly and forwardly in an arc about the pin 30. Thereupon, movement of the crank to the bottom dead center position will move the horse body upwardly and forwardly about the axis of the pin 28 and the nal quarter turn of the crank from the bottom dead center to the position shown in Figure 2 will move the horse body downwardly and rearwardly in an arc about the aXis of the pin 23. Accordingly, it will be apparent that a given point on the horse body, such as for example, the eye 34, will shift forwardly and rearwardly in terms of the axis of the arc of its upward and downward swinging movement as the hinge opens in opposite directions, thereby producing an apparent forward and rearward motion in conjunction with the upward and downward movement, as already mentioned.

The body 1S is preferably hollow and accommodates therein an electric switch 52 mounted upon a cross bar 54. The switch is in circuit with the motor 38 and the toggle 56 of the switch is straddled by a yoke 58 secured to the lower end of a shaft 60. The latter is journalled in a bearing 62 in the body 18 and extends above the body to carry a handle 64, whereby the switch may be easily manipulated by the rider.

As will be also observed, the body 18 is provided with a suitable saddle 66 and stirrups 68 for obvious reasons.

With reference now to the modified form of the invention shown in Figures 6 and 7, the base 12a herein constitutes the bottom of the body 13, although it is detached from it to facilitate movement of the body while the base remains stationary. The base 12a is supported in an elevated position by a suitable stand 70 and the motor 38 as well as the pitman arm 46 are housed within the body. The body similarly accommodates the support member 14a connected by the hinge 20 to a block 72 secured in the body, while the spring 32 extends between the body and the base 12a, rearwardly of the support member.

While in the foregoing there have been described and lshown the preferred embodiments of the invention, various modifications may become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Accordingly, it is not desired to limit the scope of the invention to this disclosure, and various changes and modifications may be resorted to, such as may lie within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed as new is:

In a hobby horse, the combination of an elongated base having front and rear ends, an upstanding support member provided at the rear end of said base, a double acting hinge including a lower leaf secured to the upper end of said support member, an intermediate leaf, and upper leaf and a pair of forwardly and rearwardly spaced hinge pins connecting the lower leaf and the upper leaf to the respective front and rear edges of the intermediate leaf, an elongated horse body disposed above said base and secured at its rear end to the upper leaf of said hinge, a motor mounted on the front end portion of said base, a crank rotatable in a vertical plane by said motor, and a pitman arm operatively connecting said crank to the front end portion of said horse body whereby to alternately raise and lower the same, the lower and intermediate and upper leaves of said hinge being in abutment when said crank is substantially midway between its opposite throws, whereby said body may swing about the respective hinge pins alternately during travel of said crank between its opposite respective midway throw posi' tions and alternately shift the axis of swinging of the body from one hinge pin to the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 98,929 Crandall Jan. 18, 1870 1,647,616 Goodrich Nov. 1, 1927 1,671,162 Peters May 29, 1928 1,730,557 Brackett Oct. 8, 1929 1,888,673 Hahs Nov. 22, 1932 2,589,570 Phillips Mar. 18, 1952 

